Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice is one of the easiest South Indian dish that can be prepared in no time. And the best part is, it works so well (if not even better) with leftover rice. 

I couldn't emphasize enough on how little I knew about cooking during my initial days in kitchen. Cooking everyday lunch was a great ordeal to me. And recipes like this were God sent.

It is perfect for lunch box or even to pack for travel. So the next time, you are clueless on what to pack for lunch or too lazy to cook – you now know what to do!

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice : 2 cups ( cook rice such that grains are separate and not mushy. Allow it cool completely. Leftover rice works best)
Lemon Juice: freshly squeezed from 2 to 3 lemons
Peanuts: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Channa Dhal: 1.5 tsp
Urad Dhal: 1.5 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves: 1 sprig
Dry Red Chillies: 3
Cilantro: for garnish (optional)
Oil: as required
Salt: as required

Preparation:

1. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice to the cooked rice along with salt. Keep it aside.Give it a taste test to adjust the quantity of lemon juice and salt.

2. Roast the peanuts in little oil till they get crisp and turns brown.

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and when hot, add mustard seeds. 
2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add channa dhal and give it a quick stir for 30 seconds.
3. Add urad dhal, red chillies, turmeric powder, asafoetida and curry leaves.
4. Fry for few seconds until the lentils change color. Make sure you do not burn the lentils.
5. Turn off the stove and add the rice to the pan along with fried peanuts.
6. Mix very well but gently making sure the color and spices are evenly mixed without breaking the grains of rice.
7. Garnish with cilantro and it is ready to serve
8. Serve with papads or it goes very well with potato fry.

Tips:

1. You can fry cashews and add to the rice.
2. You can also add ginger and green chilli while tempering.

Tomato Rasam

Rasam is an essential part of every South Indian meal. When I feel lazy to cook, I mostly prepare this easy tomato rasam or thakaali rasam with a simple potato fry, which makes a divine lunch to me. This recipe has a tangy flavor. This is my version with very little changes according to our taste. Do give it a shot. Here you go with the recipe.
                             

                         

Ingredients

• Ripe tomatoes (chopped) - 3 
• Tamarind paste - 1tbsp (thick)
• Rasam powder - 1tsp 
• Curry leaves - few 
• Cilantro (chopped) - 2tbsp 
• Salt - as needed
• Jaggery - 1/2 tsp 
• Oil - as needed 
• Mustard - 1tsp 
• Jeera - 1tsp 
• Red chillies - 2 

Method 

• In 1/4cup of  hot water dissolve the tamarind paste and keep aside. 
• Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard, jeera, red chillies and curry leaves. 
• Add chopped tomatoes along with salt, allow it to cook till mushy in medium flame.

                              

• Now add 2 1/2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of tamarind water and allow it to boil for 4-5 minutes. Lastly add rasam powder, jaggery and just allow it to boil for a second. 
• Switch off the flame. Add chopped cilantro and close it immediately to retain the aroma of the rasam. 
• Serve hot rasam with steamed rice and potato fry or have as soup. 

                          

Red Chutney

You know how one big happy family works, right? Especially in most Indian families, or atleast mine, it is just not the immediate ones but includes the whole extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins and at times it might go to the extent of parents’ cousin’s mother-in-law’s sister!!!  You get the picture? 

Of course, each one of us may have differing opinions and we may agree to disagree, but we have always had the best times when we all get together and enjoy the cheerful chitter- chatter.

And now, do not be surprised that I am going to relate the same with, wait for it – CHUTNEY!

Chutney by itself is one happy Indian family.It has relatives across the subcontinent with nicknames galore! Each chutney may have different name, different preparation methods, and different taste but in the end of the day, it never fails to disappoint the takers. It has something to give for every palate and always live in harmony with all its other relatives in the country.

This red chutney is kind of staple at home for idli/dosa! Idli/dosa with chutney is larger than life to us. It is a very quick and simple recipe that can be prepared in a jiffy. As I already mentioned, there are gazillion versions of them and this is mine! Hope you like it as much as I do.

Green Beans Parupusili

Growing up, I was not a very cooperative kid when it comes to food. I very much regret now for having wasted almost a quarter of my life (I like to believe that I will live up to 100). I used to detest almost everything without even giving it a try and for no reason at all. All I can say is, my eating habit has been downright shameful. All my mother’s efforts to make me eat better went in vain. How I pity her now. There were very few things I used to like and so without a doubt, those few dishes definitely made its appearance on the dinner table more often.

This dish that I am now talking about – Beans Parupusili is one such favorite of mine. It was one of the very few vegetables I used to eat… well to be more honest, apart from this dish, I don’t remember on top of my head eating any other vegetable other than potatoes and ladies finger. Please do not judge! I warned you already it was shameful. And hey, I am far better now (I am now so so so proud of myself that broccoli is my new favorite that I keep telling about it whenever/wherever I can, great change, right?)

So, how can I not have the recipe of my favorite dish on blog? Would that not be shameful now? So here it is ! Beans Parupusili is a classic south indian dish and if I am right, makes it appearance mostly in the kitchens of Tamilians. Please let me know in the comments below if you have similar dish with different name in your regional cuisine.

Potato Fry / Urilai Kilangu Varuval

                         

We all love potatoes, don't we? I often prepare potato fry but was wondering why we haven't posted this simple recipe in our blog. Potato fry is an unbeatable combination when had with rasam or curd rice. It goes well with other rice dishes like sambar, coconut, lemon rice or bisi bele bath.

There are 'N' number of potato recipes but this is a simple and basic potato recipe for a lazy day in your kitchen ;)

Ingredients

• Potato - 3-4 
• Sambar powder - 2tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp 
• Mustard seeds - 1tsp
• Urad dhal - 1/2tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch 
• Curry leaves - few 
• Salt - as needed 
• Oil - as needed

Method

• Peel the skin off potatoes and cut into small strips. 
• Now transfer the cut potatoes into a bowl of water. This is to avoid the decolouration of potatoes. 
• In a pan heat oil, temper with mustard seeds, urad dhal, curry leaves and asafoetida. 
• Add potatoes and mix well. 
• Then add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Mix well. 
• Roast the potatoes in medium flame for about 10-15 minutes. Saute in between to avoid burning.
• Potato fry is ready to be served with rice of your choice. 

Tips

• You can replace sambar powder with red chilli powder.
• If you are immersing in water, drain the excess water and pat dry them with kitchen towel before using. 

                                       

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Pepper Rasam/ Pepper Spiced Broth

I am not sure about other places, but its still winter here in Chicago. Although, days are more pleasant recently, it is bitingly cold most of the days.

I always wonder what is it about the cold weather and food. Who doesn't want to snuggle up to a warm meal especially with the freezing temperature outside?!?

But as much as I tend to crave for hot,spicy comforting food (at times, even ice creams and shakes), there is something about the winter that makes me want to make a burrito of myself with super cozy comforters and pillows...along with hot coffee and my favorite novel - PURE BLISS !! 

If only a magic genie can make me any food that I want at anytime I ask for!

Ummmm.... if only....!

At times, I go all gaga on weekends and try to make complete breakfast, full course meals for lunch and even snacks for the evening just to burp away the weekend to my heart's content.

But then, It is so 'ME' to turn a bag of lazy bones at the flick of a switch. And most of the times, I happily waste away my weekends.After all, my wise friend once said, 

"A weekend wasted is never a wasted weekend !"

At times like that, this recipe comes handy. It is quick and easy, hot and spicy and probably just the thing you may need on such cold winter days!

Ingredients:

To grind:
Toor Dhal : 3 tsp
Black Peppercorns :  4 tsp
Red Chilli : 1
Cumin Seeds : 2 tsp

For Broth
Tamarind Paste : 1 tsp ( or lemon sized pulp)
Water: 1.5 cups
Tomato : 1 chopped finely
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Salt: as required
Curry leaves : 1 sprig
Cilantro : few roughly chopped

Tempering
Ghee/oil : 1 tsp
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp

Preparation

1. Grind the ingredients mentioned under 'to grind' to coarse powder.You can store this powder for at least a week although freshly ground powder tastes even better.

2. Mix tamarind paste/pulp with water. You can also microwave the solution for 30 seconds. IF you are using tamarind pulp, make sure you filter the solution to get just the liquid leaving away the pulp.

Method:

•      Boil the tamarind water along with finely chopped tomatoes,turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt,curry leaves and some cilantro. Stir at regular intervals. The tomatoes should be soft and well cooked.
•      Add the ground powder. I add about 3 tsp of the powder. But it can vary with how much spicy you want the broth to be.
•      Allow the powder to get well combined with the liquid and turn off the stove.    
•      Heat a teaspoon of ghee/oil and add mustard seeds. Allow it to splutter and add them to the broth.
•      Garnish with cilantro leaves and it is ready to be served with steamed white rice.

Note:

   

     Adjust your tamarind paste measurement with how much dilute/concentrated the paste is. The measurement I have provided is for concentrated paste. Add more,  if the paste is not concentrated enough.

     

     The color is usually on the darker side than usual rasam as we are using peppercorns.
     
     This is linked to the series - South Indian Tamil Kitchen! If you want to know more about it, click here

South Indian Tamil Kitchen #1

The story goes like this…

“The husband says he has come one complete circle when it comes to food. Having stayed away from home for many years, he has had the opportunity to explore different cuisines and his favorite is now back to Indian Food and to be more specific, South Indian Food(Tamil).

In the last two years after marriage, our dining table has seen overcooked food, salt less food, and many other disasters but never has it seen complaints ( at least, till date). So as his reward, I wanted to be equally sweet (if not, more) and knowing his preferences, decided to make South Indian food more frequently!

Sadly enough, I knew the insides of kitchen only after marriage and so I was just doing Sambar + Rasam which became really monotonous and boring. Only then I started exploring more of it and came to know of the variety that I did not even know it had! So many dishes deserve better recognition than they have right now. "

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So here it is  - South Indian Tamil Kitchen ! I hope this series motivates me and make me explore different recipes from Tamil cuisine. It can be a simple Rasam or something I haven’t even heard of but all I can assure is most of them are going to be family recipes preserved for generations. It can be something really authentic to something that is tailored for convenience. I want to document them all so they doesn't get lost over time. 

For the records, here is the list of all the South Indian recipes already on blog till date. This list includes recipes from all three of us(three?? read about us here).Certain dishes may exist in different cuisine but with a different name. Leave us a comment below if you come across something similar to your cuisine.It is going to be fun getting to know the similarities and differences between various cuisines. 

Breakfast

Tawa Idli

Masala Paniyaram

Sweet Kuzhi Paniyaram

Vegetable Upma/Savory Semolina Porridge
Kaima Idli

Lunch/Dinner

South Indian Sambar - Tamarind Stew With Vegetables

South Indian Spiced Broth - Rasam
Spicy Pepper Broth/Milagu Rasam

Mor Kuzhambu/ Buttermilk Stew

Vathal Kuzhambu

Curd Rice/Thayir Sadam
Lemon Rice
Tomato Rasam

Sides

Green Beans Parupisili

Spice Powders:

Homemade Sambar Powder

Homemade Rasam Powder

Idly Milagai Podi

Condiments - Thogayal/Chutney

Coconut Thogayal

Onion Tomato Chutney

Mint Thogayal/Paste

Easy Peanut Chutney without coconut

Raw Mango Chutney

Red Chutney

Snacks

Crispy Lentil Fritters - Kunukku

Thenkuzhal-Murukku

Om Podi/Besan Flour Noodles

Mullu Murukku/Crispy Savory Spirals

Baked Murukku

Verkadalai Sundal/Peanut Salad

Kondakadalai/Chickpea Sundal

Black Chickpea Sundal
Masala Vada/ Spicy Fritters

Sweets

Rava Ladoo

Sabudana Kheer/Javarisi Payasam

Custard Powder Halwa/Fudge

Bread/Rusk Laddu

Drinks
Masala Paal

Batter

Idli/Dosa Batter

I hope you find it helpful and feel free to let us know if you need any specific recipe. I can try as much as possible and get them for you from my different sources - mom, mil, sis, friends, relatives and wait for it… husband’s grand mom (precious ones, right?). 

See you soon with an interesting South Indian recipe.

Vathal Kuzhambu

I am a person of simple taste when it comes to food. But when I have an awesome mom and mom-in-law who cooks awesome food, the bar is set really high for certain dishes….the taste of which can never be replicated however hard I try. I am sure it is the same in any other family.

Vathal Kuzhambu is one such dish. It is a South Indian or to be more specific, Tamil Brahmin specialty. Sun dried vegetables (known as ‘Vathal’ in Tamil) are added to the curry. Most common vathal used are ‘Sundakkai’ a.k.a Turkey Berry and ‘Manathakkali’ a.k.a Black Nightshade. And needless to say, it has a whole lot of health benefits.

Although only vathals are used in authentic ‘Vathal Kuzhambu’, vegetables such as drumstick, ladies finger, onion, pearl onion, brinjal/eggplant can also be used. 

It is a spicy, tangy curry and it may be an acquired taste for some. But ask anyone who grew up eating this, it would spell heaven to them.

Buttermilk Stew / Mor Kuzhambu

Necessity is the mother of invention and whoever said this definitely knew a thing or two about cooking. Necessity is the mother of my cooking skills too.

Don’t you dare ask my college pals of my cooking. They will have million stories to say about it (trust me, none of them are good.You may need a day off to laugh about it.) and some even have videos to support what they say. But now after marriage, to everyone’s surprise; to my surprise –

“I cook. I cook every day… well almost! People who have eaten in my kitchen have survived to this date. And some kind souls have even complimented it."

Passionate chefs may go for authentic recipes, complex procedures and on-the-chart ingredients.

But too many ingredients scares me!
Intricate steps in a procedure intimidates me!

I go for cheat recipes, simpler procedure with ingredients that are readily available with me but making sure it by no means reduces the flavor or quality of the dish. I hope such recipes help people like me with their Indian cooking experiments.

One such cheat recipe is - Quick Mor Kuzhambu/Buttermilk Stew

Ingredients:

Buttermilk - 2 cups

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as needed

Ladies-finger - 5 to 6

To Grind:

Toor Dhal - 2 tsp

Urad Dhal - 2 tsp

Coriander seeds/ Dhanya - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds- 2 tsp

Green Chilli - 6 -7

Coconut - 5 tsp

Preparation:

1. Grind the ingredients mentioned in 'To Grind' to a smooth paste using little water.
2. Add little water to buttermilk and whisk to make it 'not-too-thick/not-too-thin' consistency.

3. Add the ground paste to buttermilk along with salt,turmeric powder and mix well forming no lumps.

Method:

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and once hot, add mustard seeds.

2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add asafoetida and the cut ladiesfinger.

3. Saute the ladiesfinger until cooked.

4. Add the buttermilk paste and heat it for no longer than 2 minutes.

5. Serve with steamed white rice and enjoy the flavorful mor kuzhambu.

Tips:

1.You can substitute ladies-fingers with vegetables like white pumpkin or chowchow/chayote squash.But make sure you pressure cook the pumpkin and chayote before adding in step 2.

2. DO NOT let the buttermilk boil or heat for a long time. The buttermilk may begin to curdle.Heat it just enough to make it warm.

Onion Tomato Chutney

I strongly believe that cooking ‘well’ does not necessarily mean cooking ‘fancy’. At times, or rather, most of the times, the simplest of all flavors could do so much magic to our taste buds. It need not be a complicated dish with ‘hard-to-pronounce’ ingredients but just simple food cooked with love and freshest ingredients you could get hold of.

‘Simple food’ is ambiguous and differs between persons belonging to different origin and cuisines. A dish that I consider simple can be complicated to a person in Italy and vice versa. In short, simple/comfort food is the one that each one of us grew up with, the food that we saw our mothers/grandmothers cooking and the food that made our childhood. For me, it is the South Indian cuisine and more particularly Tamil cuisine.

Idli/dosa to a South Indian is like bread/pancakes to my friends in the other part of the world. Idli/dosa paired with different types/flavors of chutney will make the morning scene in most of the Tamil house. To be more precise, chutney is just like how butter is to bread. Will it be so obvious if I say; chutney is the best friend of Idli/Dosa?

So here is the recipe of one such simple chutney that is very quick and easy to make, that can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a week and that makes an excellent side to idli/dosa/pongal and wide variety of other Indian breakfasts. Sounds perfect, right?

Sambar - Tamarind Stew with Vegetables

An authentic South Indian (SI) meal is like a melody that you can taste.

Music has a rhythm, a beat and a soul; a SI meal has colors, spices and texture.

Music is all about striking a chord in perfect harmony; a SI meal is all about striking the beautiful balance between different tastes (sweet, sour, hot, tangy, salty, bitter, pungent, astringent and etc.)

It is a king’s meal with rice being the king’s favorite minister. The three-course meal menu includes sambar rice, rasam rice (recipe here), yogurt rice with any choice of vegetable curry and of course, a dessert (Didn’t I tell you it is the perfect blend of so many flavors and tastes?)

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Having said enough, here is the recipe for 'sambar' ( the first course of the meal) , which is translated as 'Tamarind Stew with vegetables'. It is a simple track with catchy beats. There are so many other beats to this stew that will soon be posted here.Until then, here is the most basic version of Sambar.Mix it with steamed white rice and enjoy the pride of South India.

Homemade Sambar Powder (Spice Mix)

Indian cooking is by itself a party that invites so many different flavors. Each day has a color, a smell and a spice! Spices are the music that makes the flavors dance in any dish! 

Spice mixes are predominant in any Indian household. Like any devout daughter, I use the spice mixes that my mom makes.Of all the spice mixes, sambar powder & rasam powder are almost like salt and sugar in my kitchen. What will I even do without them! They can be your saviors on any lazy day. Such is their shelf life – yes, you can store them for even months together.

Do a simple Google search and you will be surprised with how many different recipes you can find for these two. Such is its versatility. And now, let me proudly present my family recipe for the simplest and easiest sambar powder (drum roll, pleaseee!).

Crispy Lentil Fritters - Kunukku

Yay! Guess what, my mom is visiting US! She landed Chicago last week and will be here for another 2 months. There is going to be lot of traveling and tourism. But it also means I am going to be living in ‘Yummyville’ for the next couple of months. Nothing says ‘ home’ like a mom cooked food!

There are so many recipes that my mom perfected over many years that has always been our family and friends’ favorite. One such dish is what we call ‘Kunukku’ in South India, which is nothing but ‘Lentil Fritters’! These are fried goodies that can be made from leftover adai (south indian lentil crepe) bater.This dish is a big hit among my friends in school and college. I can still remember the days I used to prepare for school/college tests with my friends at home all day long and my mom’s evening snacks was the much-awaited time of the day! These fritters along with a cup of coffee made a perfect end to the day!

Okay, let me stop my ramble here and jump into the process of making these yummy fritters!

Rasam - Spiced South Indian Broth

As the title goes, rasam is a spicy South Indian broth which takes its presence almost every day in a typical Tamil house. I know most of the south Indian readers would have by now moved to another page wondering who would even want a recipe for rasam (caught ya). In fact, there were so many questions in my mind before posting this recipe– ‘What if it is too basic for Indian readers? ‘, ‘What if it fails to get the attention of Non-Indian readers?’ etc.

 But then, I would not be doing justice to my childhood and my native cuisine if I write for a food blog and not do a post about ‘Rasam’. Also, there might be people who are new to cooking or to be more specific, south Indian cooking who could be benefited by it. That convinced me totally!

So for those of you, who don’t know what it is all about –

Rasam literally means ‘Juice’ in Tamil and pronounced as ‘ra-sam’. It is prepared with Tamarind extract as the base with addition of vegetables and other spices. There are so many variations to it of which this is the most basic. It can be served hot as a soup but in a traditional meal, it is enjoyed along with steamed rice. Oh yes, did I tell you it is a life savior when you have your flu. Trust me; it is hot, sour and just the ‘ticket’ your throat needs when all of your other ‘doses’ refuses to help.

Vegetable Upma (Savory Semolina Porridge)

Well, this one needs no introduction! Vegetable upma, as most of you would know, is one of the most popular South Indian breakfast dishes. Liked by some and disliked by many :D

A small confession:

I have always hated upma as a kid. Why you ask? Simply because it was a torture and it was prepared too often. My mom realized that I was really having a tough time with upma and she made her version of upma with veggies.

 I must say I eventually quit Upma haters club. I assure you it tastes too good plus healthy and can be prepared in a jiffy!! So let's get straight to the recipe !!

Homemade Rasam Powder

“In the childhood memories of every cook, there's a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom." -Barbara Costikyan

I was lucky enough to have my grandmother in the picture as well.  What amaze me more than the food are the bonds and memories it is tied to. The very thought of few dishes would instantly take me back to the good old days. Rasam is one such dish and I can still remember the sleepovers my sister and I had at my grand mother's place. She prepares this amazing, mouth watery rasam and what makes it more delicious is the love with which she fed us. A day at the granny’s was never complete without having this along with rice. Ah, how much I miss her now. 

Before I could get lost in nostalgia, let me get back to the post – Rasam powder - the key ingredient that determines the taste of your rasam. If you have this handy, you can prepare the rasam in less than 10 minutes and what is even better is you can store this for months together in an air tight container. Every south Indian family would boast of a recipe for rasam powder that would date back to ‘God knows how many years’! And so is mine. Though, I can never come even close to the rasam my paati (grandmother) makes, the very thought of me following her recipe gives me joy and brings back fond memories of her in my daily life.

So, for those of you who are using store bought rasam powder, here is the age old family recipe for the homemade version of the same.